From pblouw at uwaterloo.ca Mon Feb 4 22:43:04 2019 From: pblouw at uwaterloo.ca (Peter Blouw) Date: Mon, 4 Feb 2019 22:43:04 -0500 Subject: [ACT-R-users] Feb. 15 Application Deadline - 2019 Nengo Summer School Message-ID: [All details about this school can be found online at https://www.nengo.ai/summerschool] The Centre for Theoretical Neuroscience at the University of Waterloo is excited to announce our 6th annual Nengo summer school on large-scale brain modelling and neuromorphic computing. This two-week school will teach participants to use the Nengo simulation package to build state-of-the-art cognitive and neural models to run both in simulation and on neuromorphic hardware. Summer school participants will be given on-site access to Loihi, Intel?s new neuromorphic research chip [1], and will learn to run high-level applications on Loihi using Nengo! More generally, Nengo provides users with a versatile and powerful environment for designing cognitive and neural systems, and has been used to build what is currently the world's largest functional brain model, Spaun [2], which includes spiking deep learning, reinforcement learning, adaptive motor control, and cognitive control networks. For a look at last year's summer school, check out this short video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwtYgBB2N6I We welcome applications from all interested graduate students, postdocs, professors, and industry professionals with a relevant background. [1] Davies, et al. (2018). Loihi: A neuromorphic manycore processor with on-chip learning. IEEE Micro. Vol. 38 no. 1 pp. 82-99. [ https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8259423] [2] Eliasmith, C., Stewart T. C., Choo X., Bekolay T., DeWolf T., Tang Y., Rasmussen, D. (2012). A large-scale model of the functioning brain. Science. Vol. 338 no. 6111 pp. 1202-1205. DOI: 10.1126/science.1225266. [ http://compneuro.uwaterloo.ca/files/publications/eliasmith.2012.pdf] ***Application Deadline: February 15, 2019*** Format: A combination of tutorials and project-based work. Participants are encouraged to bring their own ideas for projects, which may focus on testing hypotheses, modeling neural or cognitive data, implementing specific behavioural functions with neurons, expanding past models, or providing a proof-of-concept of various neural mechanisms. Hands-on tutorials, work on individual or group projects, and talks from invited faculty members will make up the bulk of day-to-day activities. A project demonstration event will be held on the last day of the school, with prizes for strong projects! Participants will have the opportunity to learn how to: - interface Nengo with neuromorphic hardware (e.g. Loihi, SpiNNaker) - build perceptual, motor, and cognitive models using spiking neurons - model anatomical, electrophysiological, cognitive, and behavioural data - use a variety of single cell models within a large-scale model - integrate machine learning methods into biologically oriented models - interface Nengo with cameras and robotic systems - implement modern nonlinear control methods in neural models - and much more? Date and Location: June 9th to June 21st, 2019 at the University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. Applications: Please visit http://www.nengo.ai/summerschool, where you can find more information regarding costs, travel, lodging, along with an application form listing required materials. If you have any questions about the school or the application process, please contact Peter Blouw (peter.blouw at appliedbrainresearch.com). The school is also partly supported by ONR and ABR, Inc. We look forward to hearing from you! -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From springschool at rug.nl Wed Feb 13 05:15:05 2019 From: springschool at rug.nl (Spring School, FA) Date: Wed, 13 Feb 2019 11:15:05 +0100 Subject: [ACT-R-users] Early Registration Deadline ends this Friday Message-ID: Fourth Groningen Spring School on Cognitive Modeling *? ACT-R, Nengo, PRIMs, & Error-driven learning?* Date: April 8-12, 2019 Location: Groningen, the Netherlands Fee: ? 250 (late fee after February 15 will be ? 300) More information and registration: *www.cognitive-modeling.com/springschool * *The deadline for our Spring School ends this Friday.* So if you want to profit from the early fee, be fast. The Spring School will cover four paradigms: ACT-R, Nengo, PRIMs, and error-driven learning. More information about the paradigms can be found below and on our website. Please let us know if you have any questions. Best regards, the Spring School team Please feel free to forward the information to anyone who might be interested in the Spring School. ______________ *Error-driven learning* Teachers: Jacolien van Rij and Doroth?e Hoppe (University of Groningen) Error-driven learning (also called discrimination learning) allows to simulate the time course of learning. It is based on the Rescorla-Wagner model (Rescorla & Wagner, 1972) for animal cognition, which assumes that learning is driven by expectation error, instead of behaviorist association (Rescorla, 1988). The equations formulated by Rescorla and Wagner have been used to investigate different aspects of cognition, including language acquisition (e.g., Hsu, Chater, and Vit?nyi, 2011; St. Clair, Monaghan, and Ramscar, 2009), second language learning (Ellis, 2006), and reading of complex words (Baayen et al, 2011). Although error-driven learning can be applied for all domains in cognitive science, in this course we will focus on how it could be used for modeling language processing and language learning. *ACT-R* Teachers: Jelmer Borst & Katja Mehlhorn (University of Groningen) Website: http://act-r.psy.cmu.edu. ACT-R is a high-level cognitive theory and simulation system for developing cognitive models for tasks that vary from simple reaction time experiments to driving a car, learning algebra, and air traffic control. ACT-R can be used to develop process models of a task at a symbolic level. Participants will follow a compressed five-day version of the traditional summer school curriculum. We will also cover the connection between ACT-R and fMRI. *Nengo* Teacher: Terry Stewart (University of Waterloo) Website: http://www.nengo.ca Nengo is a toolkit for converting high-level cognitive theories into low-level spiking neuron implementations. In this way, aspects of model performance such as response accuracy and reaction times emerge as a consequence of neural parameters such as the neurotransmitter time constants. It has been used to model adaptive motor control, visual attention, serial list memory, reinforcement learning, Tower of Hanoi, and fluid intelligence. Participants will learn to construct these kinds of models, starting with generic tasks like representing values and positions, and ending with full production-like systems. There will also be special emphasis on extracting various forms of data out of a model, such that it can be compared to experimental data. *PRIMs* Teacher: Niels Taatgen (University of Groningen) Website: http://www.ai.rug.nl/~niels/actransfer.html How do people handle and prioritize multiple tasks? How can we learn something in the context of one task, and partially benefit from it in another task? The goal of PRIMs is to cross the artificial boundary that most cognitive architectures have imposed on themselves by studying single tasks. It has mechanisms to model transfer of cognitive skills, and the competition between multiple goals. In the tutorial we will look at how PRIMs can model phenomena of cognitive transfer and cognitive training, and how multiple goals compete for priority in models of distraction. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From coty at cmu.edu Tue Feb 19 08:58:13 2019 From: coty at cmu.edu (Cleotilde Gonzalez) Date: Tue, 19 Feb 2019 13:58:13 +0000 Subject: [ACT-R-users] Post-doc position available at Carnegie Mellon University Message-ID: <8e7a3242a4be4552b2a2fb1c3cfa2c71@cmu.edu> Dear colleagues, I have a post-doc positon available in my lab. If you have a student about to graduate, that fits the position please encourage her/him to apply! Thank you, Coty -- Post-doctoral Fellow Position Dynamic Decision Making Laboratory Department of Social and Decision Sciences Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) https://www.cmu.edu/ddmlab/ The Dynamic Decision Making Laboratory (DDMLab: https://www.cmu.edu/ddmlab/) at Carnegie Mellon University is seeking applications for a post-doctoral fellow position. The start date is flexible from May 1, 2019 to August 1, 2019. The position is for one year with possibility of renewal to a second year according to performance and availability of funds. We are looking for enthusiastic Ph.D. recent graduates who have passion for basic science and that want to make an impact in our society while working on important applied problems. The position is highly interdisciplinary, but we expect that applicants with backgrounds in Computer or Industrial Engineering as well as in Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences be the best fit to this position. The Post-doctoral fellow will support the design of experimental studies involving one or more (networked) participants; and will also need to be engaged in the development of computational models of individual and collective behavior. The position will involve collaborations with Prof. Gonzalez and with other well-recognized researchers in various institutions. Required qualifications: * A Ph.D. (completed by start of employment) in cognitive or behavioral psychology, human factors engineering, or equivalent. Technical background is required; for example, a Ph.D. in social psychology with no other degree in Engineering or Computer Science would not be acceptable. * Training in behavioral science research methods and statistical analyses. * Experience with statistical software (preferably R, others acceptable). * Experience with computational/cognitive modeling (e.g., reinforcement learning, ACT-R models, IBL models). * Demonstrable writing abilities through publications and good communication skills. Desired qualifications: * Experience with programming (preferably Python, others acceptable). * Experience with web programming and design. * Experience working with interdisciplinary, collaborative teams, and managing research assistants. Duration: This is a full time research position with full benefits, for one year with a possibility of renewal for one more additional year conditional on performance and availability of funds. To apply: Please send a letter of interest, curriculum vitae, relevant journal articles, and let referees send three letters of reference before March 1, 2019. Please send electronic documents (Word, Pdf) to: coty at cmu.edu. Applications will be reviewed as they arrive. The DDMLab is part of the Department of Social and Decision Sciences at Carnegie Mellon University, a research paradise. CMU is located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, one of America's most livable cities. The city has a strong university presence with over a dozen colleges and campuses and a great cultural scene. Carnegie Mellon is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. For more information on our Equal Employment/Affirmative Action Policy and our Statement of Assurance, go to: https://www.cmu.edu/policies/documents/SoA.html -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... 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